Jahangirpuri violence: Police accompanied illegal procession, their complicity needs to be probed, says Delhi court

Stopping a Hanuman Jayanti procession without permission in Northwest Delhi last month, was "utter failure" on part of the Delhi Police, a Delhi court said. The local court in Rohini in Delhi added that the issue “seems to have been simply brushed aside” by senior police officers. The police personnel “accompanied the illegal procession” and their complicity, “if any”, need to be investigated, the court said. Communal clashes had broken out in Jahangirpuri during the procession on April 16. In an order, Additional Sessions Judge Gagandeep Singh said “The liability on part of the concerned officials needs to be fixed, so that in future, no such incident takes place and the police is not complacent in preventing illegal activities" A copy of the order is to be sent to the commissioner of police “for information and remedial compliance”. Judge Singh also said that material investigation in the case was still underway, and that several offenders involved in the unfortunate riots, were yet to be apprehended. According to the court, the FIR itself shows that the staff of the Jahangirpuri police station, led by inspector Rajiv Ranjan and others, were “accompanying the illegal procession” on its route, instead of stopping it.